1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a memory device capable of one-time data writing and repeated data reproduction, and a method and display apparatus for operating the memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, magnetic recording media, e.g., magnetic tapes or magnetic discs, have been widely used in order to record images, sounds, or various data. However, as the use of the Internet has generalized, a user may easily access various data contents, and a recording medium having a larger capacity is required. Thus, optical media, e.g., compact discs (CDs) and digital versatile discs (DVDs), have replaced the magnetic recording media.
A separate reproducing apparatus is required in order to reproduce data stored in a magnetic recording medium or an optical medium. Such a reproducing apparatus requires a driving unit that rotates a recording medium via mechanical means and a separate input/output device for recording/reading data in/from the recording medium. In addition, a separate electrical line connecting the reproducing apparatus to a display apparatus is required in order to output a reproduced image, sound, or data signal to the display apparatus.
Because a separate reproducing apparatus is required in order to reproduce image and/or sound data from a recording medium, and a complicated connection line connecting a reproducing apparatus to an external display apparatus is required, a user may be inconvenienced. To address this problem, the related art discloses a method in which information is read from and re-recorded in a flash memory by using a universal serial bus (USB) instead of a separate reproducing apparatus and a complicated connection line.
Because a flash memory that may repeatedly write and read data is used in this method, a movie file may be recorded after watching a desired movie. However, due to relatively high costs, manufacturing DVD titles and supplying them to a user in relatively large quantities may be difficult. Even if a user stores and reproduces movie data in and from a memory by using his/her computer regardless of expensive costs, a relatively long period of time is required to store a movie having an image quality similar to that of a DVD with a capacity of about 5 GB. Thus, storing various movie titles or image and/or sound information may be difficult in terms of costs and time. Thus, in order to store/reproduce a relatively large amount of data in/from a semiconductor memory, a highly integrated and inexpensive semiconductor memory capable of one-time data writing and repeated data reproduction data is better than an expensive flash memory capable of repeatedly reading and writing data.
A highly integrated and inexpensive semiconductor memory capable of one-time data writing and repeated data reproduction has been disclosed in the related art. This semiconductor memory has a lattice form and may include a steering device and an insulator, which are disposed at an intersection between a lower electrode and an upper electrode, and thus, allow a current to flow only in one direction. Because the semiconductor memory records data 1 and 0 according to whether the insulation of the insulator is broken, data may be recorded only one time, but data may be repeatedly reproduced.
However, in such a semiconductor memory, a relatively high voltage must be applied in order to break the insulation of an insulator, and whether the insulation of the insulator is accurately broken must be checked. Thus, a writing rate of such semiconductor memory is about 0.5 MB/s. Accordingly, a period of time equal to or greater than forty-five minutes is required to record a movie of high image-quality having a size of 25 GB. Thus, the above semiconductor memory is inefficient in terms of cost because a relatively long time is required to record/reproduce a title in which a relatively large amount of image and sound information are recorded.
Accordingly, another semiconductor memory capable of one-time data writing and repeated reproduction has been developed, wherein a relatively large amount of information, e.g., movie, is written in the semiconductor memory during manufacturing thereof. In this semiconductor memory, an insulator may be formed on a steering device only in a memory cell in which data 0 is recorded. Such a semiconductor memory is advantageous because a relatively large amount of information is standardized during manufacture of the semiconductor memory, and thus, the semiconductor memory may be supplied in relatively large quantities.
However, when a relatively large amount of information is recorded during manufacturing thereof, because a highly integrated memory cell is required in order to write a relatively large amount of information, a short circuit might occur due to a conductive particle and a process error which are generated during the manufacturing process, thereby leading to operational errors. In addition, because a reading rate of data from a completed semiconductor memory, that is, the data transmission rate is relatively low, obtaining a transmission rate of 39 MB/s required to reproduce a moving picture may be difficult.